抄録
Japan's former multiracial empire included the colonies of Taiwan and Korea which it lost after its defeat in 1945. On the other hand, the issue of how to deal with the 600, 000 or so former colonial subjects who remained in Japan became a new problem.
MacArthur's draft of the new Constitution stated that "Aliens shall be entitled to the equal protection of law", however this became "All of the people are equal under the law" in the present Constitution. "People" came to be interpreted in a narrow sense as Japanese nationality holders, and foreigners were thus placed in a weak position.
When the Peace Treaty came into effect in April 1952, former colonial subjects were unilaterally pronounced 'foreigners' without being given the opportunity to choose their nationality. An exclusive legal system centered on its own nationals was thus established.
This legal system was faced with a huge challenge with the unexpected influx of Vietnamese refugees into Japan. Furthermore, with the entry of foreign workers into Japan in the latter half of the 1980's, the multiracialism of Japanese society could no longer be avoided. The need to separate nationality from ethnicity, the history of Japan's past, and present conditions are being questioned, and the time has come to consider a legal system which reflects this condition.
